Overshadowed and overwhelmed?

Believe it or not, there was another election decided by Connecticut Democrats on Tuesday. The "record high turnout" (a whopping 43 percent, but it was far worse in Michigan: 18 percent) touted by Howard Dean also elected New Haven Mayor John DeStefano to take on popular incumbent Gov. Jodi Rell (R) in November. The New York Times had a humorous, though accurate, assessment of DeStefano's situation:

Fresh from his narrow victory in the Democratic primary for governor
of Connecticut, Mayor John DeStefano Jr. of New Haven began his general
election campaign on Wednesday facing some bleak realities.

His
campaign bank account is nearly empty. His running mate supported his
opponent. He is challenging a popular incumbent. And another race, for
the United States Senate, has commanded the attention of voters and the news media.

Ahh, yes, money situation...

(T)he uphill battle ahead of Mr. DeStefano is no joke.

He
worked more than two years and spent most of his $4 million in campaign
money to defeat Dannel P. Malloy, the mayor of Stamford, winning by a
margin of less than 2 percentage points. He said he needs to raise $3
million over the next three months to mount a credible campaign for the
Nov. 7 election.

Surrounded by reporters at the headquarters
of the Democratic State Central Committee, Mr. DeStefano reached into
his pocket and fished out some coins. “We’ve got at least 80 cents,’’
he said.